The present invention is related to a device that provides a decorative and functional ink refill cartridge. More particularly, the present invention is related to a writing instrument cartridge having a wavy or coil shape such that the cartridge, when placed in a fully or partially transparent or translucent hollow barrel shows the wavy or coiled nature of the cartridge, which also contains more ink than usually found in standard ink cartridge sold on the market.
Currently ball point pens and other writing instruments utilizing an ink-containing cartridge have a small diameter cylindrical ink reservoir straight in configuration from which the ink flows by gravity toward the nib and is distributed to the instrument writing mechanism such as a ball point or felt tip point. This in turn applies an even flow of ink to the writing surface. Many writing instruments currently in use maintain a clear plastic or colored translucent plastic barrel so that any insertion therein can be seen. Thus, when the novel refill cartridge of the present invention is inserted in such a plastic barrel, it enables one to observe the inserted ink cartridge providing both an aesthetic appeal and functional purpose. The clear or translucent barrel permits the user to observe the level of the ink in the cartridge to gauge whether there is a sufficient quantity of ink within the instrument to complete the user""s task. From an aesthetic standpoint, the ink refill cartridge can display different colored ink, or multicolored ink, or may itself be colored to give a colorful appearance through a clear or translucent barrel.
The quantity of ink in conventional writing instruments is limited to that which is contained within the refill. Many writing instruments are inexpensive to produce and are generally discarded once the ink has been completely exhausted through writing. The useful life of these disposable writing instruments is thus limited to the amount of time it takes to completely utilize the ink contained within the cartridge. Accordingly, there is a need to produce an ink cartridge that extends the useful life of writing instruments by providing a larger supply of ink within the pen.
There is also a need to provide an ink refill that extends the useful life of ball point pens and other writing instruments that can be housed within the available diameter of writing instruments presently on the market. Thus, it is desirable to produce a coil refill that may be housed within the current diameter of ball point pens and other writing instruments presently developed which range between 7 to 9 mm as well as larger diameter instruments such as markers and highlighters. Thus, there is a need to produce an ink cartridge that fits within the available diameter of writing instruments presently being produced in the market, which provides more ink than that of a conventional refill and is decorative and aesthetically pleasing as well.
An additional advantage of the invention is the ability to wrap the refill around the outside of the instrument barrel whereby the cartridge rests on the surface of the instrument barrel. The flexible cartridge may wrap around the entire length of the barrel or a smaller portion of it. Many present writing instruments contain a textured, soft or raised grip area located about the writing instrument covering various amounts of the surface of the instrument. This provides a convenient area in which to hold the instrument when writing or a pleasant texture along the entire barrel length, or some smaller portion thereof. An advantage of the current invention is that it combines the advantages of the increased ink capacity and aesthetically pleasing design with the opportunity for the invention to provide a raised grip area along the barrel. The external ink cartridge may be wrapped around the entire length of the writing instrument or a smaller portion of the instrument.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to meet these and other needs through producing an ink-containing cartridge comprising at least a portion having other than a straight configuration, such as a wavy or coiled configuration that provides a steady and consistent flow of ink by gravity to the nib and ball point or other writing tip of an ink-refill writing instrument.
It is another object of the invention to provide an ink cartridge that provides more ink within the cartridge than conventional cartridges, thus substantially extending the useful life of writing instruments.
It is still another object of the invention to provide an ink cartridge which contains more ink than conventional refills and can be housed within a conventional clear plastic or translucent plastic writing instrument barrel.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a flexible, coiled or wavy ink cartridge in a fully or partially clear or translucent plastic tube.
Another advantage of the device of the present invention is that it provides for a decorative method by which the ink within a writing instrument can be displayed.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a writing instrument cartridge that is simple in construction, low in cost and easy to manufacture.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a writing instrument cartridge that can be used in instruments such as gel ink pens, markers and highlighters.
Another advantage of the invention is that the coil or wave dimensions may be varied to accommodate placement for different sized writing instrument barrels.
It is still another advantage of the invention that the invention may wrap around the outside of the writing instrument in a novel and aesthetically pleasing manner.
Another advantage of the invention is that it may be placed along the outside of the instrument to provide a grip area toward the writing point of the instrument or elsewhere along the barrel of the writing instrument.
Additional advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows, and in part will become more apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following description of the drawings or upon learning by practice of the invention.